From the Islands Press

DURING the past week we have been told, directly and indirectly, that certain people are feeling ashamed of this paper be cause we are publishing letters which, to their way of thinking, are not beneficial to the general OUTSIDERS’ viewpoint of the island.

If we could honestly say that the community functions as a happy, united group of people, or that the substance of the letters is any different from those pub lished as far back as 1932, then there might be reasonable grounds for complaint.

Unfortunately nothing seems to have altered and the next logical question we should ask ourselves is—have we really progressed since the so-called “good old days?”

Any individual has the dem ocratic right to make fair comment or criticism of public officials and others who seek public approval.

This can be as caustic and in temperate as the critic may wish, providing it is honest, without malice and based on fact.

We will continue to publish letters if they are honest, without malice and are based on fact. If people are still ashamed of this newspaper for doing this we ask them how long do they intend to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the contentious subjects which are always before us.— Editorial in “The Norfolk Islander”.

THERE has been much dis cussion in recent weeks con cerning new Government of American Samoa procedure on visits by Western Samoans. This question touches a basic aspect of relations between the two Samoas.

The policy of continually mak ing it harder for Western Samoans to visit American Samoa con stitutes an added hardship to people already suffering from the division of their families. Visits become more difficult all the time.

First, a passport was required.

Now the visitors must have a pre paid return ticket. Next on the schedule is said to be a $750 bond. If implemented, this demand could bar all but a tiny minority of Western Samoans from visiting.

Advocates of these restrictions say it is necessary to keep un desirable persons from Western Samoa from establishing them selves on Tutuila. We agree, but is it necessary to treat all Western Samoans as potential undesirables? —Editorial in “The Samoa Times”, Pago Pago.

A LETTER addressed as follows arrived recently from England: The Secretary, Civil Servants Association, Bairiki, Tarawa, Gilbert and Sullivan Islands.— ltem in a Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony Newsletter. r pHE plan to conserve Govern i ment finances by dismissing one-fifth of the teaching staff, clos ing schools, raising the school entry age, and employing no new expatriate teachers next year strikes most of the public as an incredibly shortsighted and con fused approach to this country’s problems of economic develop ment.

Such action is expected as the last resort of a bankrupt govern ment but the facts appear to show that the government is not bankrupt; the country has a vast potential for development pro vided the finance can be found; and, as far as the Minister of Education and the public are aware, no attempt has yet been made to obtain this finance as an alternative to slashing educational and other expenditure and throw ing people out of work.— Editorial in “Samoana”, Apia.

THE promise of more oppor tunities for Samoans through tourism has now become a reality. All through these two weeks, people have been running all over trying to figure out how to get a job at the new hotel.

Many others have been plotting for quite some time on how to get a little business space, and perhaps land a second job.

It would be nice to see the people who were willing three years ago to subscribe—on the basis of nothing more than promises—get some preferential treatment. Where abilities are equal, or vary slightly, we would

like to see shareholders or their wives and husbands get the job or opportunity. We feel that’s fair. —Editorial in the “Samoa News”, Pago Pago.

MANY of us Papuans and New Guineans are concerned about the wide publicity that your newspaper and some southern papers have given to the recent marriage between one of our fellow New Guineans and a white lass.

What is unusual about their marriage and does the Press have to make such wide publicity? Is it the colour of the skin or the creed the Press is mainly con cerned about? Colour of the skin does not mean anything at all.

Nature has just made us to be like this, and that is it.

Perhaps the Press is focusing on the groom’s background, but that does not really matter. As long as the persons concerned love each other, that is the main thing.

I support freedom of the Press, but I personally think the Press has addressed the affair too deeply.— Letter from Lahui T. Egi, Administrative Co 11 ege , Port Moresby, in the ‘‘South Pacific Post”.

THE Cook Islands News has interviewed the great majority of the crews aboard yachts that have visited Rarotonga during the past year. A glance at an in formal list kept in the office shows that roughly 80 per cent, of the voyagers liked these islands (mainly Rarotonga) better than any other place they had visited in the Pacific. Tahiti rated the least popular, the main criticisms being that officials there were very rude, prices much too high, that there were far too many tourists and military people . , . and that there were no girls.

The French outer islands of Huahine, Tahaa, and some of the Tuamotus, however, received high ratings as being “unspoiled”.— Editorial in the “Cook Islands News”.

TOO right we need an ombuds man in Fiji! The public are being made to dance to the con venience of officials, as Mr. Colin Philp has sagely remarked in the Fiji Times.—Letter from Lindsay Verrier in the “Fiji Times”.